BYU Beats San Diego, Moves to 16-4

San Diego played BYU close most of the night but Mark Pope’s squad came out on top 79-71 Thursday night in Provo.

Alex Barcello led BYU with 22 points and Fousseyni Traore had a double double with 14 points and 11 boards. Seneca Knight tied his season high with 14 points off the bench and Gideon George chipped in 10 points off the bench as well.

BYU had a subpar shooting first half and went into the half tied at 31, but shooting picked up in the second half that allowed BYU to pull away. BYU as a team shot 49% from the field, 33% from three, and 82% from the foul line. BYU outrebounded the Torreros 38-28, including 11 on the offensive glass.

With the win BYU moves to 16-4 on the season, which is the best start in 20 games in Mark Pope’s tenure. BYU started 15-5 last year and 14-6 the year prior. BYU stays home and next hosts Portland Saturday night in the Marriott Center. A win there could push BYU into the AP top 25, where BYU sits just two spots out.